A Different Jungle
by TwiceMarked
Summary: 17 years ago, his parents lost each other. Chance and politics brought them together again. But now, Naruto has to learn how to survive in a place very different to the one he grew up in, yet a place that is no less dangerous. M just in case.
1. A Familiar Face

AN Alright, I've had this idea rattling in my head for so long that I needed to get it out 'cause it was the only thing that I could really think about writing. Again, this story is going to be Naruhina, but expect some Minato/Kushina as well. It's an AU and most of it will be set in the modern world.

* * *

Chapter One

A Familiar Face

Jiraiya Myoboku, retired intelligence officer and all round pervert, was watching the Saturday night news on television, swirling a half empty glass of bourbon in his hand as he did so. It was not something that he usually did, watching the news, but somehow, he knew that if he started watching pay per view again, Tsunade would know. Somehow, she always knew. But this time, he was actually interested in what the news program was covering. Apparently, they President had authorized the logging of the Konoha Jungle.

The Konoha Jungle was one of the last true wild frontiers. It acted as a buffer zone between the two warring states of the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, a great impassable forest filled with dangerous animals and wondrous sights. Even in this age of Science, with all the power that it gave to the men who wielded it, Konoha stood firm. But not through the lack of men trying to conquer it.

Twenty years ago, there had been a war, between Fire and Earth. Headed by a man named Madara, the vastly superior numbers of Earth assaulted the forces of Fire. But they were outmatched when it came to Sea warfare and the jungles of Konoha were too vast for even their longest ranged bomber to return safely. There was, however, one way for their forces to meet in battle. Running like a great scar through the center of the Konoha forest, was a path: a wide, desolate gorge where once a powerful and mighty river must have flowed. At its shallowest point, it is at a depth of three thousand and twenty seven feet. Most of it was so deep that the only time sunlight filtered down to light your way was when the sun was directly over your head.

The lady on the TV was telling a story about the gorge, one that had, from what Jiraiya could tell, had been gained by a man who had a friend who's cousin's best friends sister's son had spoken to a Native of Konoha…yes, there had never been that much contact with the Natives…

The lady took a deep breath before speaking once more. Jiraiya gave an appreciative grin as the breath caused all sorts of…interesting things to happen.

"The natives of this area call this gorge the Kiero no Kyuubi, or path of the Kyuubi. Supposedly, their legends go, many hundreds of years ago, a giant Demon Fox with nine tails gouged out the canyon in the middle of a rampage, after a god of Pain had attacked his home, killing many of his people." At this point, it became rather obvious that the lady was reading from a script.

"Despite this, he at first fought with the cunning of the Fox, not with the rage of the Demon, for as the Demon he could not fully control himself. But then, the god of Pain killed his mate in front of him, and the Fox gave in to the Demon. The Demon ran through almost the entire land, causing much destruction, and the god of Pain fled before him. He raised the moon into the sky, trapping the Demon within it. Yet the Demon broke free, creating the craters that we see in the moon this day. But it was here that the Demon became the Fox once more, for those who were precious to him and his Father, the God of Thunder, believed in the Fox, not the Demon. Finally, the Fox cornered the god of Pain and his angel inside a great tree. However, when the Nine Tails could have killed him with ease, he instead chose mercy, despite the hatred that he felt towards the god of Pain. The Fox spoke of the peace he wished for, a peace that all in the world would share in, a peace that their master, the man who had raised both of them, had believed in. His words touched the broken heart of the god of Pain and so, with the last of his strength, he bestowed a gift upon the Fox and took away the Pain in his heart, raising his people back from the dead, thus entering that dark realm himself as payment. The angel made peace with the Fox and the Fox returned home, to his people and his mate, having made one more step towards the goal of peace."

Once she had finished speaking, she gave a disbelieving snort. "A fanciful tale to be sure. However, what we do know is that the "Kiero no Kyuubi" runs almost all the way through the Konoha Jungle…"

Jiraiya tuned out again, going back to his memories. What was left of that forest, after the Kyuubi no Kiero all eight hundred feet of it, was quickly blown to pieces.

It was through this pass, that the armies of the Land of Earth had marched to battle. The war had lasted three years, and by the end of it, every single inch of that dark, dank, forsaken place had been soaked in blood. By the end of the war, the "Kiero no Kyuubi" was known by another name, a name known, feared and hated by all the fighting forces. Death Row. And yet, despite all the death and destruction, Madara would not be placated. He gathered all of his remaining forces for one last huge toss of the dice and marched them directly into Konoha. They did not even bother hiding it from the spies that had managed to infiltrate the Land of Earth. Jiraiya's adoptive son, Minato's unit, was one of the ones sent to oppose them.

Brutal jungle fighting erupted for the first time. Never one to lead his men from behind, Minato had been in the heavy thick of it. At first, all was well. But it was not to last. After a seemingly routine scouting mission, Minato was heavily wounded. So much so that the overworked and overtired medic pronounced him KIA. It was only when they had thrown him onto the pile of the dead that, by chance, one of the men who he had trained by the name of Kakashi, heard his small mew of pain and was held back from shooting the incompetent medic by Obito, his best friend and squad mate, while the final member of their squad tended his wounds, holding at bay by gunpoint any other "incompetent" until after she had stabilized their "teacher," as they fondly called him.

But by then several hours had past and it was too late for one Kushina Namikaze. Minato's childhood sweetheart and wife of a single year, Kushina Namikaze, once Uzumaki, had volunteered for a suicide mission, believing that she had nothing left to live for. She and her entire unit were eventually marked down as MIA. That was the news that Minato had to face after he woke up from a coma that lasted for three weeks. He got the news on his twentieth birthday.

The next day was when the natives finally decided to show themselves. For a long time, they had been watching these men destroy their home and, desperately, they tried to put a stop to it. A single man came underneath a white flag to Minato, who was, by then, the highest ranking surviving officer and tried to find a peaceful solution. Surprisingly, the Sage spoke English fluently. Weary of the fighting and aching at the loss of his wife, Minato agreed to try. Wreathed with smiles, the Sage of Six Paths tried the same thing with those from the land of earth. Kakko, their General, agreed. The two leaders came under a white flag bearing no arms. Well, one of them bore no arms. Kakko betrayed them, and gunned down two of Minato's squad, Obito and Rin. It was only by the Sage of Six Paths sacrificing his own life and the help of one of his tribesmen that Minato and Kakashi were able to escape.

That night, moral was at an all time low. The men who had fought under Minato had honestly thought that there was a chance that they might live to go home, to see their loved ones. That chance had just been brutally shot down, as had their best medic and a man who was a friend to all. It was with heavy hearts that they faced the night.

Dawn, however, had a rather grisly sight in store for them. Out in the clearing that had been made by their artillery and constant fire, were stakes thrust into the ground, hundreds of them. Out of the thousands of Earth citizens that had entered Konoha, eighty-eight men and women survived, the prisoners of war. The remnants of the Land of Earth's mighty army were the heads impaled on the stakes set before them. The natives had had their revenge for the betrayal of their leader. And none of the sentries had heard a single sound.

After that day, Madara sent two more forces into Konoha. They both met the same fate before they even reached their enemy. It was soon after that hostilities ceased. A large number of fortifications now reside within Death Row. Minato and every surviving fighter from that battle had been sworn to secrecy. Jiraiya's son had been promoted to General, getting closer to his father's position of Chief of Intelligence.

* * *

The years had passed, Jiraiya retired from his position and Minato never stopped mourning his departed wife. And now, Jiraiya was sitting in his son's apartment, on the anniversary of his son's birth and his daughter-in-law's death, as his son tried to drown himself in alcohol once again. This was the only day that Minato allowed himself to remember and the grief he felt was all too often overwhelming. And now president Hashirama, after much pressuring from far too many sources, had authorized some gung ho lumberjacks to, as Minato put it, "desecrate the place of his wife's grave." Jiraiya grimaced.

Naturally though, there were some people who would speak out against this destruction of the environment.

"And we now go live, to where the native people of Konoha, the Shie-noo-bee?" she pronounced uncertainly, "have apparently got a spokesperson to protest of these actions."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at that. The _Shinobi_ were very quiet people. Most of the time, they kept themselves to themselves. It would be a rare sight to see one live on television. Settling himself down for the show, Jiraiya took a long draught of bourbon…only to spew it all out in a fine mist as the "Shinobi" came on screen.

* * *

_Thud! Thud! Thud!_

Minato rolled over in a drunken haze and groaned at the loud banging coming from his locked bedroom door. Clutching his aching head, he glared blearily at the entryway. It was probably Tsunade again, coming to tell him to get over himself. Hypocrite. All these years and the famous doctor still got drunker than he ever did on the day of Uncle Dan's death. Why was it that she wouldn't just leave him alone?

"Minato! Get up!"

Minato blinked. "What do you want, you old lecher?" he asked irritably, his voice slurred.

"You have to see this!"

He debated the option for a minute, he really did, before just shrugging and laying himself back down into the cushiony softness of _their_ quilt. He only ever took it out of the cupboard one day a year and even now, he could still pretend that her scent still lingered on within it.

"NOW MINATO!"

"…Piss off, old man."

WHAM!

Jiraiya stalked through the splintered remains of the once locked door, stomping on and over said door as he moved towards his son's shocked form.

"I forgot you were getting touchy about your age," Minato slurred sourily.

Paying no mind to him, Jiraiya pulled him up to eye level. "There's something that you need to see on T.V."

If he had not been so plastered, then Minato would have seen the look of shock, urgency and amazement that glinted within Jiraiya's eyes. As it was though…

"This better not be another advertisement for an escort service," Minato muttered.

Giving up, Jiraiya simply dragged him through the apartment at top speed, ignoring his cries of pain as he bashed against the corners and edges of passing objects.

Getting to the lounge once more, Jiraiya threw Minato on the floor. "LOOK!" he shouted.

But Minato, with the stubbornness of a drunk, had closed his eyes.

"Kid," Jiraiya said seriously. "If you don't look now, then I _promise_ you, you will regret it for the rest of your life."

Minato sighed resentfully. Jiraiya never broke a promise. If he had to, he would _make_ him regret it for the rest of his life. So, begrudgingly, he opened his bloodshot eyes and took a look at the TV. His eyes widened, even against the glare. Suddenly, his face was pressed right against the screen as he clutched at it with both hands the way a drowning man would clutch to a lifeline.

Bright, violet eyes, pale skin, a perfect nose, and perfect lips, perfect everything and that long, flowing red hair that reached below her waist. And that voice, that passion filled voice that had been in his thoughts for seventeen years. It was just as he had remembered it.

"Kushina," he whispered, his voice filled with awe and love.

Jiraiya nodded. "Pack your things son, we're going to be going on a little getaway," he said with a grin.

Minato nodded, his fingers tracing out his wife's familiar face on the screen.

"The first plane, dad, the very first plane. I don't care what it is, or how we have to do it. If it's going to crash land there in flames, I want to be on it."

* * *

Author's Note And that's the first chapter of A Different Jungle. Updates will be sporadic with this story, as I am mostly going to be focusing on This Time as a Namikaze. So, tell me what you think of it. Should I continue or no? Please note that I am in no way putting This Time…on hiatus, just wanted to try something new. As I have before said, this will be heavily AU and I suppose you could say that it is a bit of a crossover with the movie Jungle to Jungle. So, you guys no the drill by now. Read and Review, but most of all, enjoy! I'd really like some feedback on this one, so could you give a guy a hand? Thanks!

TwiceMarked out.


	2. On the Way

AN

Hello! Welcome to A Different Jungle, my second fanfiction! Most of you are probably here after checking out This Time as a Namikaze, thanks for taking a gander at this one as well. I don't own Naruto and I write because I enjoy it. Hope you enjoy reading it.

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Chapter 2

On the Way

A couple of hours later saw Minato talking on the phone to one of his best friends, a man who also happened to be his boss. "Come on, Minato," Hiashi Hyuuga, the Land of Fire's leading presidential candidate for the upcoming elections, exclaimed. "You can't just phone me at almost 3 a.m. in the morning and announce that you want to get on a plane to the middle of nowhere! How the hell is that going to viewed by the media? My strongest supporter, the man who is hailed as a hero of the land, vanishing at the beginning of the electoral year."

Minato winced as Hiashi's voice pounded like a drum beat in his hung over skull. All that he had told his old friend was that he was leaving on a plane to the Konoha Jungle and then he had just simply exploded right in his ear. The Hyuuga had never really been much of a morning person. Although looking at his stoic demeanor one would never think it, Hiashi was a man who _really_ liked his sleep. Which was a problem seeing as how Minato had just woken him up, calling him on the "emergency phone." Hiashi had always been a very formal man, but due to his high social status, he found it necessary to keep more than one phone. One phone was for business, one was for family and friends and the last one was for emergencies, that he always kept charged and on his person. Everyone knew that you did not use that number lightly, or there would be hell to pay.

"You know that I wouldn't do this if it were not of the utmost importance to me, my friend. This is something that I have to do. Just let me explain…"

"Is this about your wife?" his friend interrupted gently. Hiashi had been a true friend to Minato after Kushina's "death. It was funny. Before hand they had only shared a passing friendship, despite having known each other since childhood. In fact, they had drifted apart until Hiashi had been more Jiraiya's friend than his. But when he had come home, a completely broken man, Hiashi had been there from the beginning. It started when Minato and Hiashi had a meeting in his office. Minato had been shuffling some papers around when a note fell out. Curiously, he had opened it and read the simple message inscribed upon it.

_Hi honey!_

_Just a short note to tell you that I won't be home for a while._

_Love You!_

_Your Wife Kushina_

Unable to stop himself, Minato had simply started to weep uncontrollably. It was then that the Hyuuga shed his face of stoic dignity, and allowed himself to become more human, or as Jiraiya put it, "he pulled the stick out of his own ass," in order to comfort his childhood friend. After this incident they had spent much time together, growing to depend on one another and on their friendship. Heck, after Hinata, Hiashi's firstborn, came into the world, the crazy man had even named him Godfather! And when Hitomi, Hiashi's beloved wife, passed away soon after her second childbirth, Minato had been the only person who he would allow himself to mourn in front of. It had been his turn to be the comforter. And when Hiashi had started acting coldly towards his daughters, most particularly towards Hinata, who was a painful reminder to him of Hitomi, it had been Minato who had given him the, literal, kick in the rear and gotten him to act like a father once more. He had helped his friend move past the pain of his loss, despite the fact that he felt like a huge hypocrite while doing so.

All of this led to the two of them knowing each other very well, so when silence greeted Hiashi's question, the Hyuuga knew that it was, indeed about his wife. However, he was tactful enough not to pursue the issue.

"Alright, what is it that you need to do?" Hiashi asked. "All that I've registered so far is that I've been woken up by my best friend at an ungodly time in the morning to find out that he has apparently taken leave of his senses. What's so important?"

"You normally tape the late night news, right?"

"Yeah…what of it?"

"Channel 9, about halfway through."

There was a halt in the conversation as Hiashi got his entertainment system switched on, which was punctuated with Hiashi's occasional muttering under breath. From what Minato could hear, said muttering was both highly uncomplimentary of him and at times most likely anatomically impossible. Minato sweat dropped. He had forgotten just _how_ cranky Hiashi got when woken at inopportune moments. However, the sounds on the other end of the phone suddenly came to an abrupt, pregnant pause. This pause dragged on and on. Finally, Minato, unable to take the silence any longer, spoke.

"Hiashi?" he asked.

"Take as long as you need, my friend." Wonder filled the Hyuuga's voice.

Minato smiled at the words and, for a moment at least, it seemed as if the ache in his head lessened, just a little.

"I'm already on the plane."

"Then I wish you well."

* * *

Hiashi hung up the phone and sighed, before walking to his kitchen and making himself a cup of coffee. He would not get any more sleep tonight. Slowly, he walked around his large house, before stopping in the hallway directly between two doors. Quietly, he opened both of them and stared into his daughters' rooms. His gaze softened as he beheld their peaceful faces, both of which were turned to face their doors. This was a sometime habit of his, he found it comforting to just look at his most precious possessions while they slept without a care in the world. It was something that he did to calm himself down. Hiashi was happy for Minato, truly. After all, that blond military man was his closest friend. And yet, at the same time he could not help but feel the first stirrings of jealousy well up from deep within him. It seemed to be horrifically unfair, that Minato would get another chance with Kushina while he had nothing left of Hitomi. But, somehow, looking at his two daughters, he knew that that was not true. He still had Hinata. He still had Hanabi. All this time, Minato had had no one and he had suffered for it. At times, it was almost as if he had lost his will to live. That had been something that Hiashi's girls had provided him. Hiashi slid his back down the wall and sat on the ground, content to watch his daughters breathe in and out in their sleep for just a little while longer. He was happy for his friend.

* * *

Jiraiya giggled as another airhostess in a short skirt walked down the aisle. Honestly, he never really understood why so many people seemed to prefer sitting at the window seat, the view here was so much better. Seated next to him was Minato, who, even at this early point of the flight, was slightly…restless. The man could seemingly not do anything to keep himself still. Instead, he kept on shifting around in his seat, which by now, had started to squeak, slightly. Minato was also constantly tapping at his chair's armrests using the knuckles of his thumbs. The stranger on his left side, a great hulk of a man with a sit and an ego, had snapped angrily at Minato to keep still. Shortly afterwards, he had voluntarily moved down from first to economic class.

Jiraiya had been impressed. He had been completely unaware that his adoptive son had such an effective glare. It wasn't so much the completely dead like eyes that seemed to stare into your very soul, ready to light it from within that got to you, nor was it the combination of that, the thin lips with the slightly bared teeth and the way that his left hand kept clenching and unclenching while the right strayed unconsciously to the waist where a gun was usually kept holstered. No, you've never really been glared at until you've been glared at by a man who has been in a war, seen the death of his friends and been forced to kill to survive.

Suddenly, Jiraiya was distracted from his slightly morbid force by an old habit of his. Bird watching. One of the airhostess' had stopped to serve someone a drink and seeing that there was a person between her and her customer, she had to lean over, causing that delectably short, in Jiraiya's opinion, to begin to raise, slightly. Caught in the moment, Jiraiya donned a pair of shades and began chewing on his bottom lip. He had just mouthed 'dat' when Minato interrupted him. "I need to get out."

Jiraiya quirked his eyebrow at him, incredulously. "We're 6000 feet up. I don't think that that is an option anymore Minato."

Minato sighed explosively. "Not _out,_ out! I just need to walk around a bit."

Jiraiya sighed. One of his wife's habits that he had seemingly picked up in memory of her after her believed death was a seeming inability to keep still when stressed, much like Kakashi always turning up late to everything.

"Look, Minato, you should get some sleep. It's going to be fine."

"_Fine! How do you know it's going to be fine! _Great Kami, Ero-sannin! I haven't seen her in seventeen years! I don't know how she's changed! For all I know, she might not remember me, she may have moved on! _She may not love me anymore_!" Minato was breathing hard as he finally voiced his greatest fear.

Jiraiya sighed and signaled the air hostess, who glared at the man she had just finished serving before moving on to Jiraiya, her face wreathed in smiles, although she eyed Minato warily. 'Now why would a sweet young thing be glaring at one of the men on the aircraft,' Jiraiya thought curiously as he ordered to small bottles of whisky with a smile. 'Oh, that's why,' Jiraiya thought as the airhostess leaned over once more to pass them their drinks. The man had probably dropped his eyes down her cleavage. Pervert. It wasn't as though Jiraiya did not take a quick peek himself, but unlike most men, he knew how to look discreetly. The hostess left with a sour look on her face.

"Here," Jiraiya said, twisting the cap off the bottle and handing it to Minato. "Drink this, it'll calm you down."

"You do remember that I'm hung over, right?" Minato asked him sarcastically.

"Yeah, I also realize that you need to drink this right now," Jiraiya insisted.

Sighing, Minato drank the contents. Almost immediately, he began to feel its effects. "You…"

"I told you it would calm you down," Jiraiya said with a smile as he started pouring his own drink.

"Bastard…" Minato muttered, before slipping into a dreamless unconsciousness.

Jiraiya grinned to himself, responding with a cheerful wave to the hostess who had nodded thankfully at him, although, by the looks of it, the sky warden wasn't too happy with him using some of the…ahh, herbal remedies he had picked up from Tsunade…

Really, Minato was worried that his wife would not love him anymore? Yeah, right, like that would ever happen. Don't be fooled, Jiraiya knew that a lot had probably happened in both their lives, but Minato had probably not missed out on anything completely life changing, right?

Halfway across the world, a boy who was soon to become a man sneezed.

* * *

AN Hope you liked it, it's shorter than the chapters that I usually write, believe it or not, that's intentional, I want to see if I can make regular, small updates. $50 says that it won't last...

TwiceMarked out.


	3. A Violent Surprise

AN Alright, I bet most of you thought I had given up on this story. The answer to that question is...no! I kind of mostly just doodle on this when I have a bit of trouble with This Time as a Namikaze, my main fic. So, sorry it's been a while since the last update. In this chapter, Minato is finally reunited with his beloved wife. And yet, he is in for a rather...violent surprise.

**Disclaimer: I cannot be held responsible for the well-being of any reader or pet-past, present, or future. Continue reading at your own risk**

* * *

A Violent Surprise

Chapter 3

Jiraiya sighed, staring down mournfully at his cuffed hands. He had been right. Airport security did have a bit of a hissy fit at his actions. Which was why he was sitting across the table from a pair of detectives who had spent the last half an hour trying to interrogate him. They were actually quite good at it. Still, they were trying to _him_ of all people, known by many as 'the Sage.' Needless to say, they were not making very much progress. Hell, they hadn't even discovered that his passport and papers were all fakes. Extremely good fakes, yes, yet fakes nevertheless.

As he deflected another question, Jiraiya wondered if Minato had woken up yet. He really was a lazy ass, although, truth be told, it was a while since he had gotten any real sleep. 'Might also be that I was not _entirely_ sure about that drug dosage...' he mused to himself.

Finally, the female 'bad cop' got frustrated, and leaned forward, glaring ferociously at Jiraiya. "You will tell us what we want to know," she said dangerously.

Jiraiya chuckled. That was his cue. "Awww, young ladies are so cute when they're naive," he said, batting her on her nose as he said so.

Furious, she stood up, sending her chair flying and slammed her hands on the table, leaning dangerously close to him. "Who are you?" she shouted.

"A real ladies man," Jiraiya said as he tapped her playfully on the nose, his other hand straightening his tie.

Her eyes widened. What had happened to her handcuffs? Instinctively, she tried to slap his hands away, only for her other hand to be dragged along by the motion. The policewoman had found her handcuffs.

Immediately, she tried to reach her gun, only to find that that too was no longer in her possession.

"Now, let's all remain calm," Jiraiya said soothingly, holding up his hands with her gun in them in a non-threatening manner.

Instantaneously, the woman's partner smoothly drew his pistol and brought it to bear on what had once seemed like a relatively harmless old man. A shot rang out, as did a cry of pain. Jiraiya sighed, his weapon smoking.

"That wasn't very calm," he said matter-of-factly to the police officer, who was clutching his wrist, glaring at the man who had just shot his gun out of his hand.

"Look, I don't mean you any harm…"

The girl with the nice…personality snorted; causing Jiraiya to roll his eyes. Sighing dramatically, he tossed the gun back to the girl, who caught it with an incredulous look on her face. He was just in time too, for the door to the interrogation room burst open and their police chief rushed inside, his own weapon drawn.

"Finally," Jiraiya sighed. "Someone of authority. Take a seat, don't be shy."

* * *

It took a while to calm everyone down, but the police chief finally took Jiraiya up on his suggestion.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I am going to _personally_ see to it that you get every single sentence that I can slap on you. You are going to go to jail for a very long time, _old man,_" the chief growled as he took a seat, glaring intensely at Jiraiya, his weapon still in hand.

Said old man stretched lazily. "What about my one phone call?" he asked in a curious tone.

The chief's eye twitched. "Okay, you'll get your phone call. There it is," he said, indicating the landline next to him. "Use it."

"If you don't mind, I'd prefer to use my own," the old man said in a cheerful tone, producing a cell phone from his thrice searched person. The chief's eye started twitching more aggressively. "Here," the Sage said, sliding his phone over to the police officer. "Use any number on speed dial. They should be able to clear things up."

At this, the officer's eyebrows shot up. He had heard such stories before, but never said with such confidence and usually, the person that said it knew some very dangerous people. Judging by this man's decisive actions, that might be the case.

"Who will I get ahold of?" he asked, curious despite himself.

"Some _very _important people. Take care though, because they _will_ answer that call and you may not like what they have to say. Why don't you start at number 8?"

"Who will I get?"

"The man you've got in the room next door sleeping off the drug I gave him, General Minato Namikaze."

At this, the chief laughed in his face. "I don't know who you think you are, but I served with Minato Namikaze. He's a hero around these parts. I think I'd know if-"

"Did you actually see him yourself?"

The chief stared at him. As a matter of fact, he hadn't. He had come straight to the interrogation viewing room after glancing at the…blond haired man sleeping next door. A sneaking suspicion came over him.

"Cole, Murphy, weapons out, watch him. If he moves, shoot him."

They both nodded, the woman in particular seemed to be almost looking forward to it. I retrospect, Jiraiya reflected, it had probably been a bad idea to tell her that he didn't normally go for the kinky stuff as she patted him down.

The Chief came back into the room in less than ten seconds, looking pale. Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah, he probably wouldn't be able to answer his phone right now. So you might want to try someone else. Just what ever you do, don't speed dial number 1."

Jiraiya slapped his hand on his forehead when the policeman foolishly took him up on his dare. The President of the Land of Fire, Hashirama Senju, answered on the third ring.

"Jiraiya, this better be good, you're interrupting a meeting of state."

* * *

Ten minutes and one almost heart attack for a police officer later, Jiraiya and Minato were given a police escort to their destination. Jiraiya was looking extremely satisfied with himself, sipping occasionally from a bottle of scotch that had been provided for them by their most generous hosts. Minato had, by now, shaken off both the drug and the hangover and was not entirely certain whether to praise Jiraiya or punch him. Deciding to take a leaf from Tsunade's book, he simply did both, much to Jiraiya's disgust. Nevertheless, they arrived at their destination in record time.

Minato took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he gazed at the jungle bungalow that supposedly held his wife within. "Seventeen years," he whispered softly and walked slowly up to the front door, almost dreading what he would find, Jiraiya close behind.

Gathering his courage, Minato stepped up to the door and knocked. He waited anxiously for a moment before unable to stop himself, tried the door. It was unlocked. Struggling to suppress his excitement, he entered the house to see the beauty of vision that was his wife down the corridor. "Minato?" she whispered in disbelief.

"Hello, angel," he breathed and started to run towards her.

He had gone four steps before he was hit from above, a body driving him face first to the floor. Instincts kicking in, Minato rolled with the blow, coming up facing his attacker. He heard Jiraiya's shout of warning before his assailant bare foot kicked him strongly across the face in a cartwheel like maneuver that had him facing Jiraiya in time to throw several needles at the man before he cock his gun. By the time those needles, had hit some very specific points along Jiraiya's arms, paralyzing both of them and forcing him to drop his gun, their blond assailant had twirled around, his center of gravity low to the ground and his left leg extended, sweeping Minato of his feet and sending him crashing to the ground. Minato hit the ground with a thud and coughed out blood when the blond jumped onto his stomach, knees first. His eyes widened and he was only just able to catch the arm descending towards him, preventing the black bladed knife clenched in its fist from puncturing his throat. Yet it bore inexorably, almost effortlessly closer and Minato knew he would shortly lose the battle.

"Naruto!"

The blade halted and Minato got his first glimpse of the face of his attacker. It was like looking in a mirror. Blond hair, tanned skin, three whisker marks on each cheek and bright blue eyes that were currently staring murderously into his.

"Kaa-san…" he growled protectively.

"Iya!" Kushina commanded angrily, slashing her hand negatively in front of her.

The boy, for he was indeed a youth, about sixteen years old, grudgingly put his knife away and simply back flipped off Minato, landing perfectly on his feet and placed himself between Minato and Kushina. His stance was guarded and he was perfectly poised for combat. He was dressed like a native, wearing what seemed to be deerskin pants and little else, showing off an impressive six-pack. His body was tanned and toned. His limbs were not over muscled; yet they held a wiry strength that Minato could attest to. Several orange feathers had been threaded through his long blond hair. More orange festooned his right pectoral in a tribal design and he had several pouches strapped to his waist and both legs. All this was taken in as Minato struggled to get air back into his lungs.

"Ureshi?" the native asked.

"Fujo no jiji," Kushina said, gesturing to Jiraiya. Rolling his eyes, he moved over to Jiraiya. Before doing anything, he flicked the handgun into his right hand and dismantled it singlehandedly. Ignoring the man, he carefully removed each needle. Jiraiya stayed very still as he did so.

In the meantime, Kushina had rushed over to Minato's side, and pulled him up to her, constantly running her hands over him, proving to herself that he was real. Finally, Minato stood up and gazed into his wife's violet eyes, running his hands through her long scarlet hair, oblivious to everything around them. It all seemed so natural then, as they both started leaning their heads towards each other, focused on each other's mouths. Their lips were perhaps half an inch from each other when someone kicked the back of Minato's knees, forcing him to kneel and suddenly the native was busy pushing Kushina gently away from him, before turning around and letting loose a warning growl.

Kushina quickly slipped past him and knelt in front of her husband, holding his face in her hands, before throwing her arms around him and pulling him close.

It warmed Minato's heart to feel Kushina against him. He could feel her shaking slightly as she wept. Truth be told, he would probably also be bawling like a baby if it were not for the fact that that warning growl had got steadily louder, and the blond was now fondling one of those black knives, almost lovingly, as he stared at the reunited couple.

"Kushina," Minato said cautiously. "Who is this devil?" he asked he asked his angel, speaking the last word in his mind only.

"Oh, Minato," Kushina said, sounding extremely dazed at realizing that she held in her arms her long thought dead husband, who was alive and, well, almost well. Still in a stupor, she introduced the two of them.

"Naruto, I'd like you to meet your tou-san, Minata Namikaze." Turning, she gestured to the young man down the corridor, who hissed angrily at Minato.

"Minato, I'd like you to meet Naruto Namikaze, your son."

* * *

Author's Notes. Well, that's another chapter done. Jiraiya proves to know some rather interesting people. Naruto has finally been introduced to the story and his father. What will happen next? And if you can, I need some help with positions of parliament and people from the Naruto universe that could fill them in. Hiruzen Sarutobi for instance is the Vice President, but I could use suggestions for the Secretary of State, the Secretary of War and the like. So, you know the drill by now, read, enjoy and review! Not necessarily in that order. As always, most of all, enjoy! The next chapter for This Time is over half done, so it should be out in a week or two by now. Uni has really cut into my writing time.

TwiceMarked out.


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